It’s not clear what the future holds for Derrick Rose. All we know is that it won’t continue with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Rose asked the Grizzlies to waive him just a week before training camp begins. This could be the precursor to Rose’s retirement, after a season where he played just 24 games for the Grizzlies, averaging eight points. Memphis was set to pay Rose $3.36 million this season, but according to reports, the soon-to-be 36-year-old forfeited the entire amount.
After being drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2008, Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. But his career was derailed after he tore his ACL during his hometown Chicago Bulls’ first playoff game in 2012. That injury, and a subsequent torn meniscus, cost him most of the next two seasons.
Rose went on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves (where he had a 50-point game), Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks, twice. If this is truly the end for Rose, he finishes with averages of 17.4 points and 5.2 assists, and a career marked by injuries, big performances, disappointments and remarkable perseverance in coming back from so many surgeries.
Because Rose requested his release, the Grizzlies get some extra salary flexibility, though not a lot. They’re now $5.98M below the luxury-tax line with 13 players on the roster, giving them the chance to add another player on something other than a minimum contract.
Rose wasn’t likely to play a lot of minutes for the Grizzlies anyway, but they could certainly use more guard depth. There are still veteran options available, and there’s still a possibility Rose might stay in Memphis in some kind of coaching capacity.
There were incredible highlights in Rose’s career. But due to his fragile knees, he seems fated to become the first NBA MVP to never make the Hall of Fame. Still, a 16-year career full of heroic scoring efforts is nothing to be ashamed of — even if fans are left wondering wat might have been.
